Weanling Needs and the Next Pregnancy Among the Iraqw of Tanzania
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
WEANLING NEEDS AND THE NEXT PREGNANCY AMONG THE IRAQW OF TANZANIA DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Crystal L. Patil, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2004 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Dr. Ivy L. Pike, Advisor Dr. Douglas E. Crews _____________________________ Adviser Dr. Kristen J. Gremillion Department of Anthropology ABSTRACT The reproductive process is characteristically biocultural and evolutionary. A woman concurrently manages her own biosocial needs and the needs of those dependent on her while pregnant. This negotiation process takes place in a specific social and ecological context which is the source of constraints and buffering mechanisms. The birth of a child creates an atmosphere of social change for a mother, her most recently weaned child, and the newborn. This study was carried out from September 2001 to November 2002 among the Iraqw, a group of Southern Cushitic speakers residing in northern Tanzania. A sample 45 women were selected to assess the impact of increasing fertility on young family development in the contest of social change. This longitudinal study examined biological, social, economic and demographic variation in relation to pregnancy, birth, child growth, and health. The primary objectives of this research were: 1) to identify if there are changes in child growth rates or morbidity throughout the birth transition; 2) to identify if changes in maternal body composition are reflected in the body composition of her children; and 3) to determine whether a mother’s social environment is associated with outcomes of pregnancy and child growth and morbidity. Results from this initial study have raised many questions. There is no clear finding that the birth of a sibling creates a vulnerable period of time for the index child. However, there are protective behaviors that indicate that mothers (and newborns) are nutritionally buffered during this time and that mothers nutritionally buffer some children under certain circumstances. There is ample evidence to suggest that social networks are critical to health and well being and that shifts in gender ideology in this younger generation may confound negative effects. Future research will focus on the details of social networks and the effects of shifting gender ideology in the context of reproduction and child caretaking. iii Dedicated to my “Little M & Ms” and Baraka iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost I must thank the people of Haydom area and especially the women who shared a year of their lives with me and more. Thank you for tolerating the measurements, laughing at my ridiculous questions, and forgiving my poor Kiswahili and even worse Kiiraqw! I am grateful and humbled. Each person/family we had contact with has changed some portion of my life and the life of my family forever. Valentina and Eli – I could not have done any of this without you! Even learning to drive in the bush and greetings would have been impossible without your guidance. I am grateful to Deodatis Amedeus Masay who taught us that “the impossible is possible in Tanzania”. Evalina, Teckla, Helena, Flora, Kaptolina, and Paschalina – I thank you. Mama Neema and Katarina – without you life would have been difficult for us. At the University of Dar es Salaam, I thank Dr. Lawi, Dr. Tungaraza, Dr. Frida Tungaraza, Dr. Kaaya, and Joe Lugalla for professional support. I must thank Dada Veron – Veronica! You saved us literally and figuratively so many times. Your care, concern, generosity, love, warmth, happiness, sense of pride, ethics and everything about you made us feel like we had a family member in Haydom everyday. The “non-local locals” in both hemispheres deserve special thanks. Mwalimu Deo –you are patient and caring and shared so much. Katherine – we only knew each other in Africa! Thank you. You taught me that it is ok if I didn’t “get it” and encouraged me not to be too hard on myself. Thank you for teaching me that field work is a slow process and that it will take years and years AND that it is ok. Katherine, Sasha, Fabiola, Wilder, and Colletta – the respites in Mbulu were so nice. v Barbara (Barabara) – you shared our language and customs, but most importantly your M & Ms! Thank you for helping us survive the first few months and laughing with us (not at us) when we did not understand. You have a special place in our hearts. Dr. Olsen and Mama Kari – you deserve your own chapter of praises – we can only say “Thank You” and it is not enough. Dr. Bjorg Olsen – your support over the years has been wonderful. Thank for encouraging this project and in the midst of your own dissertation taking the time to answer my emails with comprehensive and thoughtful responses. When I think about this project and the total of the last ten years at Ohio State, I am surprised by all of the people I can credit with influencing some aspect of my graduate career. At Bloomsbury University, my professors introduced me to anthropology and how to “teach” anthropology. Special thanks Tom Aleto, Dee Ann Wymer, Dave Minderhout and Bob Reeder. The encouragement and opportunities provided by P. Pacheco got the ball rolling and I gratefully acknowledge is support through muddled times. At Ohio State I acknowledge Dr. Gremillion, for being more than patient with me as I maneuvered my way through different aspects of anthropological thought. You knew I genuinely needed to “find people”. I thank you for your guidance and great advice. Dr. Crews - your human variation class changed my whole direction. My Ph.D. advisor, Dr. Ivy Pike – I knew when we met that our paths were meant to cross. You quickly got me up to speed and never doubted that I would “catch up”. You taught me that theory should drive research but never told me “what to do”. Thank you for providing the examples that allowed me to learn. I value your intelligence and thank you for introducing me to East Africa. We will always be connected by those nights laughing “in the bush”. I have more than benefited from your guidance, encouragement, and friendship. You have profoundly influenced the way I think and view the world. “Lead by example” are the first words that come to mind when I think of Cathy Rakowski. Your advice and encouragement are absolutely priceless and I had opportunities to work with some of the most amazing people through WID. vi Alyson Young, thank you for those long phone calls and instant messaging sessions that got me through tough times. I promise to partially repay as you continue on your own similar journey. I will always remember x-mas on the 4th of July! Betsy Abrams – your unending enthusiasm kept me going and your visions of the future keep me going. Special thanks to Ann Biersteker, Brittany Eckleberry, Tori Saneda, Bram Tucker, Jarrod Burks, Craig and Erica Keener, and Linda Whitman. My family in the Philadelphia area – thanks so much for understanding the unexplainable – you accepted that I HAD to go to graduate school and HAD to go to Africa even if it meant leaving you all behind. Your phone calls and visits in desperate times refueled me. I especially thank you for making me see that I should be proud. Betty and Popat and Vikas– this Ph.D. is partially yours. You all earned it. I think it stands for Profound (and heartfelt) Dedication to family and education. You made the combination of the two possible! The fact that we never had to worry about our children made life so much easier. You tolerated the ups and downs of the process with such grace. I also appreciate that you wanted to share a part of Africa with us and did. Vikas – you are my best friend and make my life complete; I can not thank you enough for your unending and unconditional support. I am fairly certain that without you this project never would have happened. You gave me the confidence to plan it and see it through. Not many people would pick up and move across the world twice or work double-overtime so that I could keep writing. I can’t express how much I appreciate what you do and why you do it. You are an old soul and that is only one explanation for your ability to tolerate so much (including the unofficial “Lilith Fairs” you have willingly attended). Mo Cheeks, Jimmy Jackson, mariposa, light refraction, off! – need I say more??? Of course, but that sums up so much that only you would understand. And that’s the point – only YOU would understand. vii VITA 1993 ………………………………………B.A. Anthropology, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania 1996 ………………………………………M.A. Anthropology, The Ohio State University 1996 – 2001 ………………………………Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University 2003 – 2004 ………………………………Presidential Fellow, The Ohio State University 2004 ………………………………………Postdoctoral Fellow in Medical Anthropology, Washington University at St. Louis PUBLICATIONS Pike, I.L. and C.L. Patil. Understanding women's burdens: preliminary findings on psychosocial health among Datoga and Iraqw women of northern Tanzania. Accepted to Culture Medicine and Psychiatry, May 2004. Patil, C.L. 2003. Sociality and Health among the Iraqw of North-central Tanzania. American Journal of Human Biology 15(2): 278. Pike, I.L., C.L. Patil and A.G. Young. 2003. Examining women’s psychosocial stress among three subsistence populations of East Africa. American Journal of Human Biology 15(2): 279. Patil, C.L., I.L. Pike, S.R. Williams, and L.B. Sansbury. 2000. The developmental niche, household dynamics, and early childhood nutritional status for Turkana of Kenya.